Cancer Prevention - Recommendation 7

Recommendation 7:
Limit consumption of salt 

Avoid mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes) 

Avoid salt-preserved, salted, or salty foods; preserve foods without using salt, methods ie refrigeration, freezing, drying, bottling, canning, and fermentation 

Limit consumption of processed foods with added salt to ensure an intake of less than 6 g (2.4 g sodium) a day. Do not eat mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes). 

Salt is necessary for human health and life itself, but at levels very much lower than those typically consumed in most parts of the world. At the levels found not only in highincome countries but also in those where traditional diets are high in salt, consumption of salty foods, salted foods, and salt itself is too high. The critical factor is the overall amount of salt. Microbial contamination of foods and drinks 

and of water supplies remains a major public health problem worldwide. Specifically, the contamination of cereals (grains) and pulses (legumes) with aflatoxins, produced by some moulds when such foods are stored for too long in warm temperatures, is an important public health problem, and not only in tropical countries. Salt and salt-preserved foods are a probable cause of some cancers (esp stomach cancer). Aflatoxins are a convincing cause of liver cancer. 

Usually most salt in diets is contained in processed foods, with only a relatively small amount added in cooking or at the table. Some traditional diets include substantial amounts of salt-preserved foods, including salted meat, fish, vegetables, and sometimes also fruits; and also salted foods such as bacon, sausages, and ham, which contain from 3 to 5 g of salt per 100 g. Industrialised diets include many processed foods that are not salt-preserved but contribute substantial amounts of salt to the diet, even if they do not seem salty, as well as more obviously salty foods such as potato crisps (chips), salted nuts, and other salty snack foods. Most of the sodium consumed in urban environments comes from salt added to processed foods, and thus is beyond the control of typical consumers. Many foods such as bread, 

soups, breakfast cereals, and biscuits may contain substantial amounts of salt; anything from 1 to 4 g per 100 g. 

Salt has been shown to directly damage the stomach lining in animal trials. It has also been shown to increase endogenous N-nitroso compound formation. Salt may enhance the action of carcinogens in the stomach. In addition, salt intake may facilitate H pylori infection.